Sealing machine



Oct. 31, 1944. w. STELZER SEALING MACHINE Filed April 17, 1942 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 31, 1944; R 2,361,884

SEALING MACHINE Filed Aprill'Y, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 r .l;IIIIIIIIIIIII(A- INVENTOR.

Patented Oct. 31, 1944 r UNITED STATES PATENT'OFF'ICE William Stelzer,Detroit, Mich, assignor to Stoffel Seals Company, Incorporated, NewYork, N. Y.,, a corporation of New York I Application April 17, 1942,Serial No. 439,435 6 Claims. (01. 81-9.1)

The invention relates to sealing machines or seal presses, and moreparticularly to a sealing machine to affix seals of the type describedin my co-pending application, Serial #437,529, filed April 3, 1942, to astring or object in a speedy manner.

The object of this invention is to provide a power driven automatic sealpress where the seals in the pie-fabricated shape are fed automaticallyand in proper order from a hopper to the press dies, and where the sealsare secured to a cord or the like by the press dies which are responsiveto the control exercised by an operator.

The invention aims at producing an improved mechanism for enclosing andsecuring the ends of a .cord or wire within the hollow rim of a seal,particularly where one end of said cordis passed through one-half of therim of the seal, and the other half is passed through the opposite halfof the seal, said mechanism including means for producing an outwardcurl on the seal, as well as means to facilitate separation of the twoends of the cord by the operator.

Another object is to produce an improved hopper mechanism, particularlyadapted for directing the seal cups or capsules to the dies in theproper position.

Further aims and advantages wil1 appear by inspection of theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a sectional side elevation of the automatic sealing machine;

Fig. 2, a side elevation, partly in section, of the type of cup orcapsule in the pre-fabricated shape used in conjunction withthe novelsealing machine to produce a seal or'tag;

Fig. 3, a sectional front elevation of the hopper mechanism and trackleading to the die members, as seen in the direction indicated by arrowl of Fig. 1; a

Fig. 4, a sectional side elevation of the hopper taken on line 4-4 ofFig. 3; 1

Fig. 5, a section taken on line 5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6, a section taken through the track on line 6--6 of Fig. 4; and tFig. 7, a section taken on line l| of Fig. 1.

Describing the invention now in detail and referring in particular toFig. 1, there is shown a frame or base 5 to which the various parts ofthe automatic sealing machine are mounted. A drive shaft 6 revolving inthe direction of arrow 1 represents the power means to operate the diesand the hopper. This shaft may be driven by any suitable source ofpower, a speed reduction unit driven by an electric motor being mostsuitable. This unit is not shown on the drawings because it may be ofconventional design and forms no part of this invention.

Mounted-to shaft 6 and revolving therewith is a clutch member 8 havinga.bearingon which a cam 9 is revolvable. While shaft 6 and clutch member8 are revolving in a counterclockwise rotation, cam 9 remains stationarywhen the machine is-in the ofi positionas shown on the drawings. Thiscam has pivotally mounted'to it a pawl I0 movable about pin H and heldout of engagement by a trip :lever I2 against a stop l3 extending fromcam 9-, whereby a spring I4 is compressed which urges paw} I0 intoengagement with clutch 8 when lever I2 is tripped by the operating leverl5 through connecting link When pawl I0 is engaged with clutch 8 cam 9revolves in unison with drive ,shaft 6 to actuate lever ll rotatableabout stud l8 and having an anti-friction roller l9 rolling on theperiphery of the cam. .Lever I! at its opposite arm has pivotallysecured thereto a clevis 20 urged into a vertical position by a spring2|. A curling die 22 is adjustably secured to saidclevis pin 20 and haswithin its lower extremity a slidable pin 23 urged into its ejectedposition by a spring 24, checked by a stopscrew25.

Also in contact with cam 9 is another roller 26 revolvable on atransferpr control lever 21 pivoted on stud l8 which is secured to frame5. This lever serves to shiftcurling die 22 from one position intoanotherthrough the intermediary of arm 28 urgedin a counterclockwiserotation byspring 29which is secured to arm 28 and lever H. A furtherobject of lever 21 is to actuate plunger 30, slidable in a bore in frame5 and urged into its retracted position by a spring 3|; this plungerhaving as its purpose to feed or load a sealing cup 32 onto the lowerextremity of pin 23. Toseal thecup to the string or cord the curling die22 is transferred into axial alignment with guide 33 slidable in a borein frame 5 and urged into its upward position as shown by the spring 34,the excursion of guide 33 being limited by a stop screw 35 fitting intoa slot in the guide. The upper portion of the guide has diametricallyopposed V-shaped slots to facilitate the insertion of the; ends of thecord or wire by the operator. Guide 33 has a central bore to accommodatean ejector pin v36 urged into its upward position by a spring 31 andheld there by a stop screw 38. The

upper portion of ejector pin 36 is hollow to receive a slidableshellshaped dividing pin 39 whose purpose is to facilitate division ofthe two ends of the cord or wire when inserted into the guide by theoperator, the dividing pin serves its purpose particularly where twoends of a cord or other fastening member are to be secured with theseal, the operator parting the cords sufficiently while inserting themso that the dividing pin is intermediate and guides one end in front ofthe ejector pin and the other behind it. This dividing pin is held inits upward position by a spring 49 which is extended to its free length.The downward movement of ejector pin 36 is caused by the downward strokeof the curling die 22 when lever I1 is actuated by cam- 9, and islimited by a stop screw 4 I.

The application of a seal to the cord or wire requires a completerevolution of cam 9. In order to disengage the clutch when therevolution has been completed the operator releases lever l5 wherebyspring 42 returns link Hi to the off position allowing stop lever l2 torevolve counterclockwise until resting against stop 43 extending fromframe 5, whereby pawl III is thrown out of engagement after it has comein contact with stop lever l2. In order to provide an interlock todisengage the clutch after each sealing cycle regardless of whether theoperator releases lever l5 or not, an arm 44 extends from link "5through a hole 45 in frame 5 to be pushed downwardly by roller 26 whenthe latter descends due to cam 9, overcoming spring 46 which serves tourge link l6 into engagement with lever 12. The latter is pivoted at 41on a pin extending from frame 5. 48 indicates the hopper in which thepre-fabricated sealing cups are placed. The type of cup.

chosen by way of example is shown in Fig. 2. It has two diametricallyopposed slots which serv to accommodate the passage of the cord and areused in this embodiment of the hopper to keep the cups lined up untilthey are delivered to the die. The hopper has a drive shaft 49 revolvingin the direction of arrow 50 and is driven by a belt 5| from the hub ofclutch member 8 which has a groove to serve as a pulley.

The hopper mechanism is shown more clearly in Fig. 3. The principl usedto feed the cups in order to the press is to provide a rotating discwhich carries cups from the hopper by means of a magnet, and arestricted passage having the outline of a cup to permit passage of acup to the track only when it is in the proper position. The

disc to carry the cups from the supply at the bottom of the hopper tothe track is indicated by 52. It is secured to a wheel 53 pinned toshaft 49 carrying a permanent magnet 54 to revolve therewith. It isnecessary that disc 52 is of a nonmagnetic material such as aluminum orbrass.

The hopper mechanism is supported by the members of a track which servesto guide the cups from the hopper to the press mechanism. 55 designatesone member of the track mechanism which has a bearing for shaft 49 andsupports the guide rail 56 which engages the slots of the sealing cup.The track member 55 at its upper portion is secured to the hopperhousing with the inter-position of a spacer 51 which, in conjunctionwith member 55 and wheel 53, serves to provide a restricted passage 58,shown in Fig. 5, which permits a cup to pass when it is in the properposition with the bottom of the cup against disc 52. If the cup is in areversed position it is apparent that passage through opening 58 wouldbe impossible. The lower extremity of member 55 of the track is boltedto frame 5 by means of bolt 59 with spacers 60, BI and back 62interposed. Secured with the same bolt is a stop 63 which serves toarrest curling die 22 in a vertical position when arm 28 is moved to theextreme right due to the action of cam 9. To permit removal of a cuploaded onto pin 23 when die 22 is swung into alignment with guide 33 therail 56 is terminated at 64. Back 62 at its lower extremity is bored outin alignment with the bore in frame 5 to permit passage of plunger 30.Member 55 has a semi-circular clearance at 65 to accommodate cup 32 whenit is pressed onto pin 23 by plunger 30.

Referring to Fig. 4 guide rail 5'6 is positioned the proper distance"from wheel 53 to allow the cup 32 to slide downwardly when diametricallyopposed slots are in line with the guide rail. Since it is preferablethat wheel 53 is made of metal for greater durability, the coefficientof friction is rather small, and it is, therefore, necessary that themain weight of cup 32 rests on wheel 53 and that the friction betweenthe cup and the guide rail is small. For this purpose I extend the guiderail such a distance that the cup when in contact with it is nearly atthe top center of wheel 53 but is sufficiently past the top dead centerso that it has a tendency to roll onto the guide rail 59. 50 indicatesthe direction of rotation of shaft 49 as well as disc 52 and wheel 53,whereas cup 32 is rotated in a clockwise direction as indicated by arrow68. It will be observed that Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 44 ofFigure 3 whereby member 55 is not shown. The shape of member 55 isintended to conform with the curve of the upper extremity of guide rail56, as the latter is secured to member 55. Another portion of member 55extends over to spacer 51 at which point member 51 and hopper housing 48are secured together. Referring to Fig. 1, the hopper housing extends tothe guide rail 56 and may be secured to member 55 in any convenientmanner.

Having thus described the details of the novel invention, I shall nowillustrate the operation of the same. The sealing press as shown in Fig.1 is shown in the off position where the press members as well as cam 9are at rest, but where shaft 6, clutch 8, as well as shaft 49, arerevolving at a low speed of revolution. Pin 23 carries a cup 32. Thediameter of pin 23 at its lower extremity is so proportioned that when acup is pressed against it, it is held'by friction. Assuming no Wthat theoperator wishes toapply a cup shaped member of the type shown in Fig. 2to a cord or the like, the operator places the ends of the cord whichmay extend from an article or package that is to be sealed, into guidemember 33. For this purpose it is necessary that he holds the articlewith one hand and with the other holds the ends of the cord slightlyseparated. By placing the cords over separator pin 39 and pulling themdownwardly they become completely separated, whereby one end will slideto the bottom of the annular roove in guide member 33 behind ejector pin36 and the other will be in front of ejector pin 36. The operator holdsthe cord firmly against the bottom of the V-shaped grooves in guidemember 33. While doing so, he depresses bell crank l5 to rotate it in acounterclockwise rotation as viewed in Fig. l, causing link l6 to movetowards the rear of the sealing machine to operate lever l2 turning itin a counterclockwise rotation, whereby pawl Ill is urged intoengagement with clutch 8 by action of spring 14. Since clutch 8 isrevolving cam 9 is forced to revolve with the latter in unison becausethe pivot pin H or pawl Ill extends from or is a part of cam 9. A smalldegree of revolubell crank. :libefore started. I I

"Ilmlopera'tion of the hopper mechanism is conanother sealing cyclecanwbe timzotis' and not interrupted by the sealing mech- .anism.Assuming that a supply. of cups is placed in hopper 48 and thatshaft 49is rotated in the member 33. Ascam 9 revolvesfmther, lever ll rotatesabout stud I8 in a counterclockwiserotm -tion depressing curling .die'22 in the directionof guide member 33.

While curling die 22 descends towards and into guide member the bottomof oup532 *on pin 23 comes in contact with divider pin 39 mm: presses itinto ejector pin 36 until the top portiontisrflrush with the top of pin36., when the two parts'are depressed in unison, causing spring .31'tocompress. As die 22 is further pressed downwardly the cup enters thebore in which ejectonpihii slides until the annular groove inguidemember33 comes in contact with the semi-curled rim of cup 32. The primaryobject 'of'this' guide memberand of the annular grooveis to bring thecord into immediate contact with the-rim of cup 32. .At a position wheretheirim of cup il-comes in contact with the annular groove-of guidemember 33 ejector pin 36 abuts againststop screw 41 whereby movement ofpin 23 'is' completely ar rested and spring 24 is compressed aseurlingdle 22. continues to descend. It is apparent-that it is necessarythat spring 24 is of greater stirfness than spring 31, spring 40 orspring-14 because-the latter are to be overpowered by spring 24. Whilepin 23 as well as the bottom ofcup 32 are held stationary and die 22continues to descend the rim of cup 32 is curled over outwardly, egjasan outward curl.

During this operation guide member 33ithrough its annular groove "gentlypresses the ends of the cord the curl ofcup 32 so that the end of therim of the latteris wrapped around the cord. The slots otcup 32 arelinedup withthe v-shaped -slotsiof guide member 33 through which thecord passes. Cam 9 is so proportioned'that at the point where the lifthas reached its.maximum, the curl is completely formed, wherebythe cupis firmly secure to the cord and forms the finished seal.

As cam 9 continues to revolve in the same direction, lever l1 startsrotation in a clockwise direction urged by spring 29 which contracts,whereby curling die 22 moves upwardly and the completed seal is ejecteddue to the action of the various springs causing the members of the dieand guide to return to their oiI" position. Cam 9 comes in contact withroller 26 and forces lever 21 to revolve in a clockwise rotationwhereby. die 22 is urged into a vertical position in alignment withplunger 30 by virtue of spring 2|. While in this position lever 21 isfurther rotated by cam 9 and presses plunger 30 upwardly to push cup 32onto pin 23 on which it is held by friction.

' As the cam passes roller 26 lever 21 is allowed to again turn in thecounterclockwise rotation so that arm 28 pushes die 22 into the positionas viewed in Fig. 1. When cam 9 nears the position as indicated in Fig.1, pawl l comes in contact direction of arrow 50, the magnetic fof'ce ofmagnet iil attracts cups which are nearest to disc 52 1 andiare carriedupwardly toward the top of the hopper. The cups have a-tendency to lieflat ingmeans. The function of opening 58 which allows a cup in thedesired position to pass is self-- explanatory. If a cup is in theproper position and reaches the top dead center of wheel 53, the latterhas a tendency to rotate it in the direction of arrow after the magnethas passedit and the friction. between the cup and disc 52 has ceased.As soon as theislotsof cup 32 are lined up with the guide rail 56 thecup enters the track due to itsown weight. In the several views the cupsare omitted in the tracks in order not to encumber the drawings butinactual operation it .is necessary thatthe track isfilled to a reasonableheight with a supply of cups becausethe 1 lowermost cup. is placed inalignment with pin 23 by. virtue of the weightof the column of .cupsinthe track. If the track is completely filled, with cups and the topmostcup is therefore unable to enter even though the slots are lined upnothing the. end of a sealing cycle In this position plunger 30 preventsthe column of cups to move downwardly, but as soon. as plunger 30 isretracted towards the. otff position as viewed in Fig. l, the lowermostcup is pushed by the column of cups behind it onto plunger 30 to beaxially aligned with it for which purpose the end ,of spacers 6| and 60are formed to provide a stop for the cup,

It is apparent that the machine can be used in conjunction withfastening members other than cords or wires, but to simplify thedescription I am using the term cord to designate any type of fasteningmember such as a wire, or a string, ribbon, etc.

While I have shown only one embodiment by way of example I wish to makeit understood that the invention can be carried out in ways differentfrom that shown and applied to seals of various shapes without departingfrom the scope of the invention. Therefore, I do not wish to be limitedin the construction nor in the application of the invention, except asdefined by the terms of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a sealing machine for aflixing cups having diametrically opposedslots to cords to form seals, where the ends of the cords are securedwithin the rims of said cups, in combination, a frame, a curling diesupported by said frame, a revoluble shaft, a cam adapted to revolvewith said shaft, lever means pivoted to said frame and actuated by saidcam, a curling punch cooperating with said die and operatively connectedwith said lever means to be actuated thereby, a control lever pivoted tosaid frame and responsive to said cam arranged to force said punch intoalignment with said die, resilient means to urge said punch to retractfrom alignment with said die, a hopper adapted to contain a supply ofcups of the type described, a track leading from said hopper toa fixedplace near said die and not in axial alignment therewith, means to placecups in orderly fashion onto said track to beguided to said fixed place,a stop to arrest said punch in axial alignment, with the cup positionedin said fixed place when said punch yields to said resilient means, andmeans operated by said cam to attach a cup positioned in said fixedplace onto said punch when aligned with said cup, said cam beingarranged and mounted to produce an operating cycle where said controllever is actuated first to bring said punch into alignment with saiddie, second, said lever means is actuated to inject said punch into saiddie to curl the rim of a cup attached to said punch, third, said punchand said control lever are retracted so that said punch moves intoalignment with said cup due to said latter and said frame, spring meansto urge said guide member towards said curling die, said guide memberhaving an annular curling groove and a rim with diametrically opposedslots to receive the ends of a cord, a control lever pivoted to saidframe, one arm thereof contacting the contour of said cam, another armbeing adapted to enresilient means and fourth, said means forattachprising a punch member slidable within said curling die and beingadapted to hold a cup of the type described, a spring to urge said punchmember in a partly,ejected position relative to said curling die, anejector pin below said die and slidable with respect to said frame, astop on said frame to arrest said ejector pin to cooperate with saidcurling die, a guide member coaxial with said ejector pin and slidablewith respect to the gage said curling die to swing the latter into axialalignment with said ejector pin and guide member, and a third arm ofsaid control lever operating outside of the axis of said ejector pin,means for supporting a cup of the type described near said third arm,and resilient means to urge said curling die to swing into a position inaxial alignment with said meansfor supporting a cup.

3. The construction as claimed in claim 2, and a dividing member at thefree end of said ejector pin to facilitate the parting of the ends of acord by the operator when inserting them in said guide member, saiddividing member having a spring to yieldingly urge it to project out ofthe free end of said ejector pin, the latter being adapted to receivesaid dividing pin within itself.

4. The construction as claimed in claim 2, together with an operableclutch to engage said cam with said drive shaft to revolve therewith andmeans operable by the operator to disengage said clutch.

. 5. The construction as claimed in claim 2, together with a track forguiding sealing cups, said .track being secured to said frame andleading to said means for supporting a cup.

6. The construction as claimed in claim 2, to-

gether with a hopper adapted to contain a supply

